Change your attitude, but remain natural.

Plains Zebras - Photo by Medford Taylor

          Zoologists suggest a zebra's stripes work to camouflage it in two ways. Alone, the wavy stripes help it blend in with tall, wavy grass. Since its main predator (the lion) is colorblind, this type of pattern camouflage works well. Because zebras usually move in herds, their stripes work as a group camouflage too. A lion doesn't see an individual zebra, but a large, striped, moving mass. This type of camouflage makes it more difficult for a predator to target and attack a weaker member of the herd. Slogan twenty-four suggests that while we internally shift our priorities, externally we should adopt the zebra's habit of blending in. Yet as we gain knowledge and skill in our practice, it is tempting to want to impress others. We may think offering our insights could be beneficial to someone. But instead of simply saying, "Perhaps you could try...," we subtly list all the reasons they should take our advice. We tell them about the teachers we've studied under, retreats and seminars we've attended and books we've read. We follow up with personal stories about how our new knowledge has radically changed our life. By the time we dole out a helpful suggestion, we've made sure the other person being 'helped' knows how wise we are. But lojong training advises that we've missed the mark if we perform instead of transform; the intention is not to gain fame but to become less self-centered. Learning the skill of 'camouflage' can help keep our ego in check rather than encouraging it to become our public relations agent.

Instead of cherishing yourself, you cherish others - and then you just relax.

~ Chogyam Trungpa

For more information on the twenty-fourth slogan, go here.

Slogan Twenty-four

Change your attitude, but remain natural.

From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet: 

            The “attitude” part of this slogan has to so with our tendency to put ourselves, our stuff and our views before those of everyone else. We may attempt to manipulate other people to do what we can do ourselves. But lojong practice encourages us to consider others first and realize we are not more important. We may first try to care for others as much as ourselves, and eventually shift to putting the welfare of another before our own desires. Remaining natural means we don’t need to make any grand gestures (spiritual posturing), nor do we need to punish ourselves for slip-ups. Instead we relax and take Mother Teresa’s advice: “do small things with great love.”

Photo: Stack of river stones next to a single stone.

            When my daughter was in elementary school, I helped start a Girl Scout “Brownie” troop for the girls there. I remember going downtown to buy her uniform and my Girl Scout leader book at the office. I wasn't prepared for all the items for sale there besides the basics we needed – stuffed animals, necklaces, journals, t-shirts and various knickknacks for her, as well as coffee mugs and key rings for me. Excited about doing something new, there was a great temptation to purchase these things that advertised we were a part of Girl Scouts. I can be enticed to do the same thing when I start a spiritual path or practice. But slogan twenty-four reminds me that it is the inner part of me where I should concentrate my efforts of transformation. All the decorative paraphernalia that makes me stand out is only a distraction that feeds my ego. In his book Buddhism with an Attitude, B. Alan Wallace relates a Tibetan adage that emphasizes this teaching: “If you shake a pot with a little water in it, it makes a loud noise. But if you shake a pot filled with water, it remains silent.”